Shortly after the owners of a Walkerton, Ind., pizza shop truthfully answered a reporter’s question regarding whether they would cater a hypothetical same-sex wedding, gay activists reacted by threatening violence and destruction to the point that Memories Pizza had to close its doors. Thanks to the generosity of thousands of donors, however, the business raised more than $842,000 through an online fundraising campaign.

One of those donors is a lesbian who, despite her personal opposition to the Christian owners’ position, firmly supports their right to voice it without retaliation.

In addition to donating $20 to the business, Courtney Hoffman shared a personal note to the owners.

“As a member of the gay community,” she wrote, “I would like to apologize for the mean spirited attacks on you and your business. I know many gay individuals who fully support your right to stand up for your beliefs and run your business according to those beliefs. We are outraged at the level of hate and intolerance that has been directed at you and I sincerely hope that you are able to rebuild.”

In a subsequent interview, Hoffman explained that she and her significant other operate their own small business and understands what the owners of Memories are facing.

She asserted that “there is a difference between operating in a public market space and then attaching the name of your business to a private event,” acknowledging that she would turn down a request to organize an anti-gay marriage rally.

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While speaking to radio host Jeff Adams, Hoffman shared her view that the gay community should be especially attuned to discrimination and disavowed those who try to silence anyone with whom they disagree.

“There’s this tendency to group people together,” she said “—they are either one thing or they are another. I just think there’s a lot of room for difference and similarities between all of these businesses, all of these communities, and if we can remember that differences don’t equal maliciousness and we try to find what we have in common – you know, the ands instead of the ors – maybe we can move beyond threats of violence and have open discussions of the things that we don’t agree on.”